Compound optical circuit switch with shared optical power measurements
First Claim
1. A compound optical circuit switch, comprising:
- two or more 1st-tier switches, each 1st-tier switch including one or more power meters to measure optical powers of signals received at inputs to the 1st-tier switch and signals output from outputs of the 1st-tier switch; and
a 2nd-tier switch having plural inputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier switch outputs and plural outputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier switch inputs, whereinthe 2nd-tier switch does not contain a power meter, andpositions of rotatable mirror elements used to make selectable optical connections from the inputs of the 2nd-tier switch to the outputs of the 2nd-tier switch are controlled based on optical power measurement data from the power meters within the two or more 1st-tier switches.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Compound optical circuit switches and methods are disclosed. Two or more 1st-tier switches may be configured to make selectable optical connections between a plurality of 1st-tier inputs and a plurality of 1st-tier outputs. Each 1st-tier switch may include input and output power meters to measure optical powers of signals received at the 1st-tier inputs and optical powers of signals output from the 1st-tier outputs, respectively. At least one 2nd-tier switch may include plural 2nd-tier inputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier outputs, plural 2nd-tier outputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier inputs, and plural 2nd-tier rotatable mirror elements to make selectable optical connections from the 2nd-tier inputs to the 2nd-tier outputs. A 2nd-tier switch controller may control positions of at least some of the 2nd-tier mirror elements based on optical power measurement data from the input power meters and the output power meters of the 1st-tier switches.
15 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A compound optical circuit switch, comprising:
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two or more 1st-tier switches, each 1st-tier switch including one or more power meters to measure optical powers of signals received at inputs to the 1st-tier switch and signals output from outputs of the 1st-tier switch; and a 2nd-tier switch having plural inputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier switch outputs and plural outputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier switch inputs, wherein the 2nd-tier switch does not contain a power meter, and positions of rotatable mirror elements used to make selectable optical connections from the inputs of the 2nd-tier switch to the outputs of the 2nd-tier switch are controlled based on optical power measurement data from the power meters within the two or more 1st-tier switches. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A compound optical circuit switch to provide selectable optical connections between a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports, comprising:
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two or more 1st-tier switches, each 1st-tier switch configured to make selectable optical connections between a plurality of 1st-tier inputs and a plurality of 1st-tier outputs, each 1st-tier switch comprising; an input power meter to measure optical powers of signals received at the 1st-tier inputs, and an output power meter to measure optical powers of signals output from the 1st-tier outputs; and at least one 2nd-tier switch, each 2nd tier switch comprising; plural 2nd-tier inputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier outputs, plural 2nd-tier outputs optically connected to respective 1st-tier inputs, plural 2nd-tier rotatable mirror elements configured to make selectable optical connections from the 2nd-tier inputs to the 2nd-tier outputs, and a 2nd-tier switch controller configured to control positions of at least some of the 2nd-tier rotatable mirror elements based on optical power measurement data from the input power meters and the output power meters of the 1st-tier switches. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of making a connection from an input port to an output port of a compound optical circuit switch, the input port connected to an input of a first 1st-tier switch and the output port connected to an output of a second 1st-tier switch, the method comprising:
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selecting a output of the first 1st-tier switch connected to an input of a 2nd-tier switch; selecting an output of the 2nd-tier switch connected to an input of the second 1st-tier switch; making a first connection from the input to the selected output of the first 1st-tier switch; optimizing the first connection; after making the first connection, making a second connection from the input of the 2nd-tier switch to the selected output of the 2nd-tier switch; after optimizing the first connection, optimizing the second connection; after making the second connection, making a third connection from the input of the second 1st-tier switch to the output of the second 1st-tier switch; after optimizing the second connection, optimizing the third connection. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of maintaining connections through a compound optical circuit switch, each connection along a respective path starting at an input port, passing through a first one of two or more 1st-tier switches, a selected one of one or more 2nd-tier switches, and a second one of the two or more 1st-tier switches, and ending at an output port, the method comprising:
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measuring optical power at inputs and outputs of each of the two or more 1st-tier switches using one or more power meters within each 1st-tier switch; and optimizing positions of one or more rotatable mirror elements within each of the one or more 2nd-tier switches based on power measurement data provided by the power meters within the 1st-tier switches. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification